Working on our personal development is a lifelong process. There’s also no cookie-cutter way of doing this, but everyone will be on a different journey based on their own unique traits.
I’m always looking for ways to keep me inspired in this journey, and as such, I love a good personal development quote.
This is what this post is all about; I really want to show you that personal development isn’t as intimidating as it may sound, and it’s totally achievable. And if you find some good quotes along the way, they’ll help you to stay on track and keep working to become the best version of yourself.
50 best personal development quotes
Table of Contents
Below you will find some of my favourite personal development quotes; feel free to copy and paste them into your online journal, print them and stick them to a mirror, or take a screenshot so you always have them with you.
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Personal development quotes on changing your mindset
- “Get your mind going in the right direction and you’ll get your life going in the right direction.” – Joel Osteen
- “A positive, or winning mindset can often mean the difference between success or failure in any endeavour.” – Anthony T. Galie
- “The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.” – Carol Dweck
- “A positive mindset is one of the attributes of successful people.” – Sandra Leon
- “Think of your mindsets as your foundation. With a solid foundation, you can build something amazing and strong.” – Dave Perotta
- “Without the right mindset, there is no chance that anyone can reach their potential.” – James Atkinson
- “When you are around people that have the same mindset as you do, it helps encourage you to work towards your goals even more.” – Michael Henson
- “Your mindset determines how you perceive and connect to the world around you.” – Joseph Taylor
- “Having a clear mental image of our goals will point us in the right direction. Having a strong mindset will help us mould our attitudes, behaviours, expectations and actions.” – John Franz
- “Everything begins from the mind, including change. So, if you want to alter your life, you have to start with your mindset.” – Alexi Weaver
Personal development quotes on leadership
- “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.” – Vince Lombardi
- “ ‘Failing forward’ is the ability to get back up after you’ve been knocked down, learn from your mistake, and move forward in a better direction.” – John Maxwell
- “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.” – Helen Keller
- “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” – Max DePree
- “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” – Jack Welch
- “My own definition of leadership is this: The capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.” – General Montgomery
- “Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position.” – Brian Tracy
- “You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.” – Ken Kesey
- “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” – Kenneth Blanchard
- “The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” – Jim Rohn
Personal development quotes on setting and achieving your goals
- “People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals—that is, goals that do not inspire them.” – Tony Robbins
- “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C. S. Lewis
- “The thing about goals is that living without them is a lot more fun, in the short run. It seems to me, though, that the people who get things done, who lead, who grow and who make an impact… those people have goals.” – Seth Godin
- “Begin with the end in mind.” – Stephen Covey
- “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” – Pablo Picasso
- “You should set goals beyond your reach so you always have something to live for.” – Ted Turner
- “Most ‘impossible’ goals can be met simply by breaking them down into bite-size chunks, writing them down, believing them, and then going full speed ahead as if they were routine.” – Don Lancaster
- “The only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.” – Michelle Obama
- “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” – Zig Ziglar
- “If what you are doing is not moving you towards your goals, then it’s moving you away from your goals.” – Brian Tracy
Personal development quotes on productivity
- “Focus on being productive instead of busy.” – Tim Ferriss
- “Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” – Paul J. Meyer
- “Until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else.” – Peter Drucker
- “There’s a tendency to mistake preparation for productivity. You can prepare all you want, but if you never roll the dice you’ll never be successful.” – Shia LaBeouf
- “You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” – Zig Ziglar
- “To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.” – Corita Kent
- “Reflect on what you do in a day. You may have never realized how some simple, harmless activities rob you of precious time.” – Vivek Naik
- “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” – Martin Luther King
- “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” – Will Durant
- “What looks like multitasking is really switching back and forth between multiple tasks, which reduces productivity and increases mistakes by up to 50 percent.” – Susan Cain
Personal development quotes for your career
- “Take your skill, combine them with your passions and find out where in the market or within your own company, they can best be applied” – Keith Ferrazzi
- “Career development takes on a different complexion during different seasons of life.” – Julie Winkle Giulioni
- “Strive to be a well-versed professional with high esthetic standards and a passion for excellence.” – Germany Kent
- “As a daily habit, I invite you to reflect and ask yourself, “Did I give myself the yes today? Did I make things happen? Did I follow my gut?” – Marisa Santoro
- “Interest and, better yet, passion is great, but action is needed for (career) success!” – Tamara S Raymond
- “A person who is both street and book smart is a well rounded individual in the community. As a result this kind of individual can achieve any career goal he or she is passionate about through perseverance.” – Saaif Alam
- “You don’t have to know exactly where you are headed, but you do have to know who you are in order to get where you are meant to be.” – Cynthia Olmedo
- “The heart of a man plans his way,” says Solomon, “but the LORD establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). We are to plan in the here and now, but we can do so in the confidence that the Lord is acting in our lives and in our circumstances, calling us to His purpose.” – Gene Edward Veith Jr.
- “It’s not unhealthy or wrong to change your mind, career wise, nor is it selfish to dream for something better than what you have, even if what you already have is “pretty good” compared to what other people have.” – Chelsea Fagan
- “No one gets promoted by just doing her job.” – Michelle Kinsman
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Best personal development quotes – Final thoughts
Embarking on a personal development journey will be one of the best experiences of your life.
You will experience so much growth, change, and your mind will expand in such a way that you never thought was possible.
Use the personal development quotes I shared to help you with this process, you will not regret it!
This Post Has 2 Comments
I love all the different facets of personal development you highlighted! Leadership is such a fun one to grow and work on! For me career development has been such a focus that it feels good to also develop personally in other areas like leadership and productivity! Great post 🙂
Yess! Go and grow your skills! 🙂